System Came When the Doctor was Thirty

Lu Cheng then explained, ”Professor Gong, this is a full recording of the spleen repair surgery our team usually does. It doesn’t take long and the process is quite simple.”

The reason Lu Cheng did this was because he wanted to probe Gong Chengwen’s bottom line one last time.

If the other party was really someone who cared about technique and scholarship, he’d understand what he meant.

Why are the professors from Xiangya Hospital unwilling to come to Xiangzhou to consult and operate?

They’re afraid of getting splattered while running side gigs, and they realize this suturing technique has real substance.

If Gong Chengwen didn’t acknowledge that, then Lu Cheng could just wash up and go to bed; why waste time talking so damn much?

Of course Gong Chengwen knew what Lu Cheng was doing—that was exactly what he’d asked for.

His movements were gracious as well; he took the video from Lu Cheng in an unhurried manner, and even asked politely, ”Can I fast-forward?”

”Sure, Professor Gong.” Lu Cheng nodded.

Gong Chengwen started swiping the progress bar to the right.

After just a short while, his brows lightly knit together.

After a bit more, he kept swiping right, then back left.

Once he clearly saw that Lu Cheng’s surgery went straight to suturing, without any spleen segment or spleen trabecula resection, he put the phone down and handed it back.

”How did the patient recover in the end? Any hematoma?” Gong Chengwen asked.

Lu Cheng replied directly, ”The patient has been discharged for half a month now; all the follow-up checks look fine.”

”Tsk…” Gong Chengwen sucked in a cold breath.

”With irregular spleen injury, you don’t debride and trim, just directly suture? You can dissect and match all the planes one by one?” Gong Chengwen was extremely professional; his questions went straight to the core.

Even rebar welding requires the fracture surface to be flat, right?

Can welding an uneven fracture be as easy as welding a flat one?

”Professor Gong, it’s not that we don’t trim, it’s minimal trimming, so we preserve spleen function to the greatest extent.”

”In fact, with this suturing technique, what I really want is to apply it to high-grade spleen injuries, to salvage more spleen function.”

”For low-grade spleen injuries, whether you use this technique or not doesn’t mean that much.”

”Resecting a small portion of spleen tissue doesn’t affect overall function.”

”Using it in those cases, aside from showing off, it doesn’t seem to have much other purpose.”

”At present, our team has calmly carried out several dozen similar procedures, and the postoperative outcomes are decent.”

”Of course, the Emergency Department at Xiangya Second Hospital is also performing this surgery. Professor Chen said this technique is quite handy too.” Lu Cheng pulled out Chen Song’s name.

On hearing this, Gong Chengwen was momentarily enlightened, then frowned again. ”This technique was developed by Xiangya Second Hospital?”

If it was Xiangya Second Hospital, it was hard to believe but still made sense.

”I came up with it together with Teacher Chen,” Lu Cheng replied honestly.

By now, Gong Chengwen’s tone had shifted from interrogating to consulting. ”Then, according to your line of thinking, up to what grade of spleen injury can this technique be applied at most?”

”Can it handle shattered, destroyed spleens?”

There was no sarcasm in Gong Chengwen’s voice; it was pure expectation.

Lu Cheng shook his head. ”We don’t dare think that far yet. We’re barely using it for grade IV to V injuries; as for shattered, destroyed spleens, we still don’t dare attempt it.”

”We need more data and animal experiment results.”

”Do you have results from other experiments? Could I take a look?” The words slipped out of Gong Chengwen’s mouth.

Lu Cheng didn’t answer; instead, he looked at Gong Chengwen in puzzlement.

Are you out of your mind?

You want to see our project team’s raw data—who the hell taught you to talk like that?

Raw data is the lifeblood of a research group; it’s impossible to show it to outsiders, to the point that—

For safety, we don’t even plug our thumb drives into other people’s computers. Every time we go out to conferences, the USB drives we use have to be new.

We have a computer that stores only raw data; it’s connected only to the local network, never to the internet.

”Sorry, that was presumptuous.”

Gong Chengwen nodded, aware that his request was over the line.

He’d spoken without thinking just now; time to rewind.

After speaking, he extended his hand. ”Director Lu, I’ve really broadened my horizons. Truly, the Yangtze River’s waves behind drive the waves ahead.”

”This whole suturing technique is very innovative.”

”You’ve really turned an ideal into reality.”

There aren’t that many unimaginable miracles in the world; it’s just taking things others think are impossible and making them possible.

Everyone has dreamed of flying to the heavens, but it only became reality in the modern era.

That’s what a miracle is.

”Professor Gong, you’re flattering me. We’ve simply stood on the shoulders of our predecessors and taken a small step forward.”

”There may have been some misunderstandings about what happened today. Our hospital, our Xiangzhou, is remote, with underdeveloped medical standards. We very much need a big professor like you to come and teach and treat patients.” Lu Cheng began with the pleasantries.

Dong Chang didn’t respond; instead, he countered, ”Dr. Lu, have you ever thought about running an advanced course or seminar just for this suturing technique?”

”I think it’s highly suitable for spleen repair surgery and spleen preservation surgery.”

”If we pool our collective wisdom, we could further expand this suturing technique’s application in spleen repair.”

On hearing this, Lu Cheng’s eyelids started twitching. ”Professor Gong, at the moment we’re still exploring the scope of this suturing technique.”

”As for advanced courses and seminars, we don’t dare think about that yet.”

”Our data isn’t mature, the technique itself isn’t really mature, and the efficacy isn’t fully established. We don’t dare haul it out and make a fool of ourselves at the master’s gate!~”

”Then let’s talk privately. Can I add you on WeChat?” Professor Gong actually started shamelessly, slowly making his move.

He proactively opened the WeChat QR scan page…

Lu Cheng had no choice but to add him.

A guest is a guest.

Professor Gong hadn’t come just to put on airs; he’d been invited by Dong Chang.

If he’d known in advance what things were like at Xiangzhou People’s Hospital, he wouldn’t have dared wade into these muddy waters.

Then, after changing the remark name, Gong suddenly tossed out, ”Would you move for five million?”

Gong’s words were truly abrupt!

Associate Chief Physician Wu Yuxiang had, in fact, moved!

Standing there, Huang Haibo grabbed the table for support, and Dong Chang’s quadriceps twitched violently.

”Sorry, what?” For a moment, Lu Cheng didn’t process what Gong meant.

But Gong shook his head, and after registering the facial expressions of both Huang Haibo and Dong Chang, he smiled with the deep cunning of an old fox. ”No worries, we’ll shift venue, talk slowly, talk privately, talk in detail!~”

That one sentence had been a test of the reactions of Huang Haibo, the others, and Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng hadn’t been particularly nervous; instead, it was Huang Haibo who was rattled. That proved that Lu Cheng’s freedom of choice lay in his own hands.

Zhejiang University is in Zhejiang Province—what does it have in abundance?

Money—more money. They’re even more willing to spend on poaching talent than Shanghai or Kyoto. That’s the core path behind Zhejiang University’s explosive advances in medicine in recent years.

Once he finished speaking, Gong swept a calm glance over Dong Chang and continued in that unhurried tone, ”Director Dong, I’ll take my leave. I’m heading back to Sha City tonight, and flying out tomorrow.”

Dong Chang hurried after him. ”Professor Gong, let me explain.”

But Gong couldn’t be bothered to listen. ”What is there for you to explain? We just did a surgery that was relatively less than top-tier in quality, that’s all.”

”Am I going to mess up the patient or something?”

”Who can say this surgery was done poorly?”

After that, Gong turned back to Lu Cheng. ”Dr. Lu, we’ll chat slowly, in detail, in private.”

Dong Chang turned and glanced at Lu Cheng, his expression irritable, his mood equally on edge, as he scrubbed his hair with his hand.

He couldn’t figure out why, but ever since he’d crossed paths with Lu Cheng, he’d been hitting walls everywhere.

This time, even the external professor he himself had invited had turned into the arm lifting Lu Cheng up, while he, the protagonist who’d spent money, effort, and energy, ended up playing a hollow role.

”Professor Gong, Professor Gong, just let me explain…” Dong kept chasing after him.

Gong turned back. ”Explain what?”

”You tell me, what is it you want to explain?”

”I didn’t know in advance.” Shamelessly and with no regard, Dong started spinning nonsense.

”You didn’t know, and then what?”

”Do you still think I did something wrong?”

”Was the surgery I did incorrect?” Gong’s tone remained unhurried.

Dong was struck dumb in an instant.

Uh, what?

Shouldn’t it be, ’one who doesn’t know is not guilty’?

Dong hadn’t even grasped the basic logic of why Gong had come looking for Lu Cheng—how were they supposed to have a meaningful conversation?

Gong had done nothing wrong.

The patient had done nothing wrong.

Lu Cheng had done nothing wrong.

Not knowing is just not knowing.

As he watched Gong’s back receding, broken up into fragments by the swaying shadows of the trees,

Dong Dao felt that his own five limbs could no longer come together…